Miami Heat: Pros and cons of trading for Kevin Love
By Simon Smith
Pros
Modern-day game
With his ability to stretch the floor and rebound at an elite level, Love possesses a skillset highly desired by many teams in the league. Holding career numbers of 18.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, Love has been incredibly productive since being selected No. 5 overall in the 2008 draft.
With last season a virtual write-off, the 2017-18 season was the most recent time in which Love completed a relatively full campaign with 59 games.
During this time, the 6’10” Love returned .458/.415/.880 shooting splits while averaging 17.6 points and 9.3 boards in just 28.0 minutes per game. Notably, the Cavaliers were 14-3 when Love nailed at least four 3-pointers.
While his playing time dropped markedly, the difference in Love’s role in the offense from his last season with the Minnesota Timberwolves to the 2017-18 season was profound, as the following shows:
Love touches per game:
- 2013-14 season: 86.5
- 2017-18 season: 52.2
Although his role wouldn’t return to the levels of his days in Minnesota, it’s safe to assume that in a Heat uniform that Love would see his involvement in the offense increase markedly from his days playing alongside James.
Kevin Love goes 8/10 from deep and scores 34 in the first quarter for the @Cavs! #ThisIsWhyWePlay pic.twitter.com/luozoHJAy1
— NBA (@NBA) November 24, 2016
Playoff experience
Following his four seasons playing alongside LeBron James, Love has had no shortage of big-game experience. Despite being desperately unlucky in missing out on the 2015 NBA Finals due to injury, Love in all has played 63 playoff games, including three appearances in the Finals.
A member of the 2016 NBA champion Cavaliers, the Cavaliers were 5.6 points per 100 possessions better off with Love on the floor as they came from 3-1 down for their historic win over the Golden State Warriors.
Prematurely speaking, if Heat get commitment from Butler & can pull off S&T, they will surely explore additional moves to retool FAST.
— Greg Sylvander (@GregSylvander) June 30, 2019
3 names I won’t be surprised if linked to Miami via trade:
• Lamarcus Aldridge
• Kevin Love
• Demar Derozan@miaheatbeat @5ReasonsSports
Fit in frontcourt
With Hassan Whiteside being shown the door, Bam Adebayo is now the undisputed starting center for the Heat moving forward.
Given Adebayo’s skillset and versatility at both ends of the floor, the possibility of a Love-Adebayo matching in the frontcourt is something that should excite all followers of the team.
In addition to Adebayo, other frontcourt members Kelly Olynyk and James Johnson would ensure that head coach Erik Spoelstra is given a plethora of options as it pertains to lineups this upcoming season.